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J Youth Adolescence (2007) 36:891903 DOI 10.1007/s10964-007-9183-5
EMPIRICAL RESEARCH
Engagement in after-school program activities: quality of experience from the perspective of participants
David Jordan Shernoff Deborah Lowe Vandell
Published online: 22 May 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2007
Abstract Middle school students experiences at after-school programs were compared as they participated in different types of activities and with different social partners. The students (N = 165) attended eight programs in three Midwestern states. A total of 1,596 experiences were randomly sampled using the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) during 1 week in the fall of 2001 and 1 week in the spring of 2002. Student engagement was conceptualized as the simultaneous experience of concentration, interest, and enjoyment. Students reported high levels of engagement while participating in sports activities and arts enrichment activities at the after-school programs, and low levels of engagement while completing homework at programs. They reported being more engaged in activities involving both adults and peers than activities with peers only. Concentrated effort, intrinsic motivation, and positive and negative mood states were also compared by program activities and social partners. Findings about participants subjective experiences and engagement in specic program activities have implications for understanding after-school programs as a context for youth development.
Keywords Extracurricular activities After-school programs Homework Organized sports
Introduction
A substantial research literature has found extracurricular activities to be an important developmental context providing opportunities for adolescents to experience heightened levels of engagement, challenge, enjoyment, intrinsic motivation, and initiative (Csikszentmihalyi and Larson 1984; Larson 2000; Mahoney et al. 2005; Vandell, Pierce, and Dadisman 2005). As a context for positive experiences, such activities have been contrasted with school and classroom activities that are characterized by high challenge and concentration but also low enjoyment and interest, and unstructured leisure activities that tend to be high in enjoyment but low in challenge and concentration (Larson 2000; Rathunde and Csikszentmihalyi 2005). Experiences that combine both concentration in challenging activities and enjoyment in interesting ones characterize the psychological state which Csikszentmihalyi (1990) has called ow. Flow is a state of complete absorption in an activity that is intrinsically interesting with no psychic energy left for distractions. Empirically, it has been related to learning, talent-development, and creativity (Csikszentmihalyi 1996; Csikszentmihalyi et al. 1993). Based on ow theory,...